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Effectiveness of A Mindfulness-centered Stress Management AI Chatbot to Reduce Stress and Enhance Mental Health Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China

NCT07732621 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 76

Last updated 2026-07-29

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness-centered stress management AI chatbot in reducing perceived stress and enhancing mental health among Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does the AI chatbot show a greater reduction in perceived stress compared to standardized psychoeducational materials?
2. Does the AI chatbot improve mental health outcomes, including depressive and anxiety symptoms, subjective well-being, and emotion regulation?

Researchers will compare the AI chatbot to a control group receiving psychoeducational materials to see if the chatbot works to reduce stress and improve mental health.

Participants will:

1. Be randomized to use the AI chatbot (recommended at least 2 sessions per week, 10-15 minutes per session) or read psychoeducational materials (2 times per week) for 4 weeks.
2. Complete online self-report questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention (Week 4), and 4-week follow-up.

Conditions

  • Stress (Psychology)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness-centered stress management AI chatbot

An investigational, web-based conversational AI chatbot providing preventive, low-intensity psychological support for Chinese MSM experiencing mild-to-moderate stress. It has the following functions: (1) Built on a Chinese open-source LLM optimized through RAG to deliver culturally adapted, empathetic responses addressing minority stress, stigma, and identity concealment. (2) Delivers interactive, 10-20 min guided mindfulness-based stress reduction exercises (grounding, self-compassion, sleep-support, etc).

BEHAVIORAL

Psychoeducation

Participants receive standardized, text-based psychoeducational readings covering general stress, coping concepts, and mental health awareness. The delivery contains no interactive features, conversational elements, or guided mindfulness coaching.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The University of Hong Kong

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-07-31
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2027-03-31

Countries

  • Hong Kong

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07732621 on ClinicalTrials.gov